Slim chance of special permit renewal for Zimbabweans in South Africa
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Slim chance of special permit renewal for Zimbabweans in South Africa

Zimbabweans queuing for permits outside the ABSA building in Cape Town in 2015. Photo: Masixole Feni.

Slim chance of special permit renewal for Zimbabweans in South Africa

It doesn’t look like cabinet will be renewing the special permits that allow Zimbabweans to live and work in South Africa after they expire at the end of 2017.

Zimbabwe, protest , service delivery

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So back in 2014, the department of home affairs introduced special permits that would allow Zimbabweans to live and work in South Africa legally. Since then the number of Zimbabweans becoming economically active in SA has grown to a reported 600 000 professionals, contributing up to 34% of the total remittances pushed into the Zimbabwean economy.

Should those Zimbabweans lose their permits, and their right to live and work in SA, the Zim economy would suffer a crippling — or should we say another crippling — financial blow… billions, as a matter of fact.

According to the Sunday Times, at the very peak of its overall remittances back in 2014, Zimbabwe was making in the region of R15 billion from its citizens working in South Africa, a lifeline the Zimbabwean economy simply can’t survive without.

Zim’s own reserve bank governor John Mangudya has publicly pushed for more remittances from abroad, considering the country’s defunct economy. Unfortunately, income from citizens abroad fell to just $779 million in 2016, mostly because of shoddy global economic growth.

Speaking to the Sunday Times, economist Eddie Cross believes the reserve bank as undervalued the figure in terms of remittances.

“Real remittances are about $3-billion a year – the majority of this from South Africa. These inflows are critical to Zimbabwe. It is estimated that $1.2-billion goes into the education sector alone. The stability of the South African diaspora is vital,” Cross said, adding that Mzansi had more foreign workers than any other country on the continent and that they have a big impact on our economy too.

“Their contribution to the South African economy is massive – they include 600000 professionals from Zimbabwe,” he said.

Read the full article in the Sunday Times here, and let us know what you think. Should home affairs renew the special permits for Zimbabwe, or should they be left to expire come the end of 2017?

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